So, before I left for Anime Matsuri, I hurriedly made a teensy Asian beauty haul because I really wanted to achieve a certain look for my cosplay pictures. Doing that meant breaking one of my huge personal rules of cosplay, which is that “nothing should be new to you” — for example, makeup used ought to be products you’re familiar with and know exactly how to use and how they wear (sounds pretty obvious, right?). Of course, nothing ever goes quite as planned, and I barely got to try this product out even once before suddenly it was the day of the convention. Luckily for me, it worked out alright. So what is this mystery product?! Good question! Today’s post is about the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer!

What is a volumer, you ask?! Another excellent question! Volumer is apparently Etude House’s Engrish-y term for highlighter. Why wouldn’t they just call it a highlighter? Well, I don’t know why but volumer is a perfectly cromulent word.

The dewy look is all the rage in Korea right now (and likely to make a comeback in the US, since the last time it was popular was about a decade ago?) and is literally referred to as “Vaseline-glow.” After all, many women originally used Vaseline in order to mimic a glowy face before highlighters were mainstream makeup products.
Of course, Etude House is one of the most popular brands in Korea at the moment, so this is one of their many offerings in the highlighter department.

Overview

The Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer comes in a milky white bottle, with a pump-top. It comes with 24 g or 0.84 oz of product. Like most Etude House products, the packaging is very girlish and cute. I especially like the foiled holographic look on all the text and on top of the cap.

It comes in 3 different “shades”, though only #2 Brilliant (which is now discontinued) may be what you traditionally think of a highlighter. I wasn’t necessarily looking for shimmer, but a lit-from-within glow, so I chose #3 Transparent. It comes out a very, very pale pink, and from the second swatch photo, you can see how much it resembles plain ole Vaseline once blended out.

Prices vary wildly from seller to seller, so you may need to hunt a little for a good price. I bought mine on eBay and paid $13.90 after shipping. I’ve seen some e-tailers list it for $22 before shipping, which is a huge makeup. 😯

How to Use

The instructions say to mix one part volumer to 3 parts BB cream. It can also be used alone after base makeup to highlight certain areas, such as the forehead, cheekbones and nose bridge. Although it recommends mixing with BB cream, I see no reason why it couldn’t also be used with foundation. (And actually, that is what I used in my pictures below.)

Directions and ingredients list

The pump is not very exacting, so a single pump dispenses more product than I need, especially if I’m meant to be mixing it with 3x that amount of base makeup. The swatch photo above shows how much you get from a single pump.

Performance

As you might expect, mixing this with your base makeup will lessen the amount of coverage it gives. It’s not a huge deal, but you may find yourself needing to go back over trouble spots more than normal.

For the comparison below, I used Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation in shade I40. I chose this because it’s a full coverage foundation that dries down demi-matte, but still with a natural glow. It’s one of my favorite foundations, although I think I may need to switch to shade O40, which is more yellow-toned (or ochre, as the shade name implies).

I am only wearing the Shiseido foundation on the left side of my face (right in the pictures). On my right (left in the pictures), I’m wearing the foundation mixed with the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer.

Comparison

As you can see, the Shiseido foundation on its own gives my face a naturally glowy look. The side mixed with the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer is more ethereal and radiant looking, which is absolutely the result the product is meant to achieve. :sparkle: I think it makes my skin look almost flawless.

It wore well, although I had to fight the urge to powder my face (which would defeat the purpose!). Even without a primer, I did not find it to decrease the longevity of my base makeup.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer is a good option if you’re going for the dewy, glowy look. It’s fairly inexpensive, and performs as promised. However, unless you live somewhere where you can purchase Etude House products in person, you’ll have to be willing to order online and perhaps pay a significant markup from retail.

Chuchu Approved! :aha:

What do you think of the dewy look? Normally, I try to avoid it because my combo-oily skin has a tendency to make it look greasy, but I think it’s nicer for pictures, where a matte face can look too flat.